The Other Doctor
by Lockiagirl
Summary: When John is making a house call, an other Doctor is coming to visit. John isn't pleased with the Doctor's conclusion. One-shot. Not beta-ed. Disclaimer: I don't the characters, just having fun.


The other Doctor

At the clinic where Dr John Watson was working, Mary, his assistant got a call from a very concerned Mr. Baxter. After his call she went to his room and said: "John, I know you are not a family doctor but would you make a house call. Mr. Baxter called about his wife. Said that she was very ill and he didn't' know what it was. First they thought it was the flu because she vomited and couldn't eat or drink and she just had some fever. But now she got a terrible headache. She can't stand light, she can't stand noise and she even can't sleep because if she's going to lay down, it feels if her head it's going to explode. And their doctor is on a holiday.

"All right, I will see what I can do. As I hear these symptoms, I think sending her to the hospital would be a wise decision to make. I assume it's probably meningitis."

O-O-O-O-O

As he came to their address a teenage boy opened the door.

"Hello, I'm doctor Watson. I was called for?"

"Yes," the teenager replied. "Come in, my parents are in the bedroom. My mother is very ill."

As John walked into the bedroom, he saw the woman half laying in the cushions, her eyes closed and looking really miserable. Although she wasn't feeling very well, she did give about manners. She opened her eyes a little and reached out her hand.

"Hello, I'm Claire" she said, closing her eyes immediately and dropping her hand back to the cushions as if her arm had fell off.

"I'm doctor Watson. I will examine you to see if you need to go to the hospital or that you can do with some antibiotic. You're her husband? " he asked the man sitting on the opposite of the bed in the meantime taking her temperature.

"Yes, I'm Alex, reaching out his hand. Sorry, doctor, I forgot my manners.

"I understand" John said with a soft smile, you're worried."

"The boy who opened the door is our son George. He's sixteen now" a proud tone in his voice.

John turned to the boy who was standing in the doorway. "Nice to meet you."Then he focused on the woman again. "The lymph nodes are swollen, your heartbeat and blood pressure is high. Just to be on the save side I would advise hospitalizing. I will make the call."

Before he could take his phone out of his jacket, the doorbell rang. George walked to the door and opened it.

Hello, I'm the Doctor they heard a man's voice. "Are you George? Your parents are Alex and Claire?"

John looked at Alex and asked "did you call for more doctors to come?"

"No, not at all" Alex answered in surprise, but then the man's face changed from worried into happiness. He took his wife's hand and said: "Claire, the Doctor's here. Everything is gonna be all right."

"Right" John said, "I see, it's your family doctor then. I thought he was on a holiday. Well, I assume he's taking over now, so I'll debrief him and be on my way."

Before he knew it, a young man entered the room. John watched the man's cloths and haircut. The other doctor wore a suit but his pants were held up by suspenders. And what more, its pant legs were too short. You could see a lot of socks and not even the colour matched with the suit. Then he were a bowtie and a very strange jacket.

"Hello, hello," he busted into the room, waving his hands fanatically. He took a sprint to Alex and took his hand. "Hello Alex, long time no see. I said I would probably pop in when George would become a teenager. Hello Claire" and he offered his hand to her. "Ooh, no good" he immediately said "you're ill. Not good at all." Then he took out of his pocket a long silver pen and pointed that at the woman.

John saw a green light at the top of the pen and heard a strange sound, almost a buzzing.

Then the Doctor brought his pen to his eyes. "Ah, he said. Nothing to worry about. You're very sick Claire, and this week you're gonna feel very miserable, but after that, you're feeling much better and within three weeks you're up and running. I promise." That he said with a big smile fixing his bow tie.

John looked at him and said. "Sorry? What kind of doctor are you?! I was suggesting to take her to the hospital because she probably has meningitis and you just let her lay down here, telling her she'd be all right? You didn't even check her temperature, her heartbeat or her neck. You just wave with a pen and say she's gonna be all right? Her blood pressure is high. Her heartbeat is high. Her temperature is high. Her lymph nodes are swollen and she has a severe headache." During this statement his voice had become more angrier and he faced the man with disbelief and disgust.

The Doctor turned on his heels to face John.

John was taken aback by the look of the Doctor's face. The man looked at him so intense that John felt like being a bug under a microscope. But John had been a soldier so he strained his back and faced the Doctor. After all he was used of being observed. Sherlock did that all the time, although Sherlock needed just a second. This man looked as if he was wanting to see the inside too.

"Who are you?" the Doctor asked.

"I'm doctor Watson and who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor." he said with a smile as if waiting for the question.

After spending some years with Sherlock he had certainly learned a trick or two from him although he'd never ever become that observant. He saw the man's eyes and although he was curious who the other doctor was, he definitively saw the hope in the other man's eyes that he would ask. Not going to happen. John was determined on that. Still angry he turned away to face Alex and said: "I would advise to have your wife hospitalized. This doctor says she's gonna be all right. So, it's your choice. Goodbye." With this said, he headed to the door, noticing the disappointed face of the other doctor.

"Alex, Claire, George, I'll be back within three weeks. Get well soon Claire" the other Doctor declared, given her a kiss on her forehead and rushed off, following John.

Just as John was outside, he heard a voice behind him. Watson, wait. Would you like a ride to your place? I must say, I'm impressed.

John turned around and saw this other doctor following him.

"Why" he asked as if not interested in the answer in the first place.

"I recognize a good man when I see one." the Doctor stated with a smile.

This took John by surprise. He almost returned the smile, but then he thought about Claire and that she didn't get the proper medical attention. _No_, he thought, _he would not give in._

"You want to know who I am and you don't want to ask. Do you want to find out? Just to be sure I didn't make a mistake with Claire? I see you don't believe me, but shall I proof it to you?"

That last one triggered him. Of course he wanted to be sure the woman got proper care. If he would go with this 'charlatan' maybe he would find out and get that man expelled from working as a doctor.

"Sure". As he watched the Doctor, he noticed that the other man was looking at him as if he knew what he was thinking. That was not possible, was it?

"Where you're wanna go? the Doctor asked?

"221B Baker Street." No, the Doctor couldn't read minds, otherwise he would have known.

"That sounds familiar. Maybe I have visited that place before," the Doctor murmured.

"I don't think so," John, replied. "We live there quite a while now."

"We? Who's the we?"

"Well, Mrs. Hudson and Sherlock Holmes."

As if John had given him a Christmas present, the man's face began to lighten up as a bulb in a torch or as child's face in a candy shop.

"That's why it sounded so familiar." Before John knew it, the Doctor took his hand and pumped it up and down, saying, "it's a pleasure meeting you, John Watson. It's quite an honour. Come, let's meet Sherlock. He can tell you in sixty seconds flat who I am and then you don't have to worry anymore."

With disbelieve in his eyes, John followed the doctor to what he would think his car, but it turned out to be a blue box. A police public call box to be exact.

"What?" John said in disbelief. "you really think I'm going inside with you in that box? You're crazier than I thought. They must put you away. You're a danger for the community." Angry he turned away from the strange 'doctor' and his 'car'. What a lunatic that man was. With that he turned around and yelled for a cab. As soon he would come home he would call Mr. Baxter to ask him to change his mind. After all, the woman needed proper care. Maybe he could persuade him to let her go to the hospital.

As soon as he came home he heard Sherlock talking in the room. Probably a client he thought. As he wandered in, still angry about what happened at the Baxter's and the crazy doctor, he saw a young man sitting in his chair. The young man as known to him as the doctor.

"How did you get here," he spat the words out.

"Take a seat John," both the Doctor and Sherlock said at the same time.

"I promised him you would deduce me in sixty seconds," the Doctor said with a chuckle to Sherlock. "I was wrong. You managed it in 50."

John watched his friend and he really couldn't' believe his eyes. Sherlock looked pleased. This really must be something, for Sherlock was terribly bored this morning at the time John left the house. He didn't have to see the wall to know that Sherlock shot at it again. He could still smell the gunpowder.

The Doctor spoke. "I didn't know Sherlock lived here, otherwise I would have visited him earlier. Two geniuses know more than one. And doctor Watson, I don't like guns. And Sherlock, this warning is for you too. His face had changed from happy to serous again. Or more threatening, John noticed.

John looked at Sherlock. "Sherlock?" It sounded somewhat insecure but this was Johns' way asking Sherlock's opinion. The Doctor smiled. John nor Sherlock didn't seem to notice the way they trusted each other. The Doctor heard it all in his question. Well, question, just one word. And Sherlock would answer. Not only to show him how clever he was. He really was to the Doctor's opinion, but also to help John understanding what was going on without telling him that he was stupid. If Sherlock really thought John was stupid, he wouldn't have lived with the man and considered him his friend. He respected John to much the Doctor could tell.

"The Doctor came to me at 5 o'clock. He told me he just met you at the Baxter's, a lovely family, his words, where you made a house call. He popped up there and you left. Obviously you didn't agree with his diagnosis because you are very angry at him. In your opinion he isn't a doctor but a 'charlatan' . You are correct about the fact that he isn't a medical doctor but he is called the Doctor, because that's his name. He has a respiratory bypass system and has two hearts. His dress code is strange considering his suspenders and a bow tie."

"Oi, bow ties are cool" the Doctor replied offended.

"He seems young but he is much older. You can deduce it by watching his eyes. They are very old. Because you work till 5 you have visited the family on your way home. So when you visited the Baxters, it must have been around 5:30 then. He offered you a ride but you refused because now it is almost 6 o'clock. Our guest must have a time machine, because he arrived here at 5 o'clock. The Doctor is an alien with a time machine."

John looked in shock. "You're making this up. You don't believe in the solar system. How could you possibly believe in aliens. Especially one with a time machine."

"When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how mad it might seem, must be the truth. I thought you know that by know." Sherlock stated.

The Doctor chuckled, slapping his hands fanatically together. "Well, right. Always wanted to hear that."

John watched both man watching him. But he didn't give in. "So, what about Claire. If you're no doctor, then how could you tell she'll be up and running in three weeks time."

"Because John, my device, taking his sonic screwdriver out his pocket, told me so. What do you think. If I am an alien with a time machine, don't you think I have other equipment far beyond your time? Now, I'm asking you again. Would you care for a ride? I don't have to ask Sherlock because I know what he's gonna say. In fact, he didn't say no to the case."

"If you have a time machine, I want to see Claire after her three weeks" still not believing the story told to him. Also the fact that Sherlock fell for it, wondered John. It had to be a hoax. But Sherlock never fell for something like that. He was too clever. How could that Doctor have convinced Sherlock?

"Come" and the Doctor ran off, followed by Sherlock who grabbed his coat and scarf. John followed them and saw the man and Sherlock running to the end of the street and then they went around the corner. By the time he reached the corner and run around it, he saw the blue box, but the men were gone. All right, he thought, it's certainly a trick at my expense. They are probably somewhere else, watching if I would go inside. He looked around, but saw no one in sight and places to hide were scarce, so he decided, against all odds, to go inside and see if there's someone in the blue box. As he opened the door, he saw a large control room. He looked shocked by the size of it. In the centre of the room was some sort of a control panel and Sherlock and the Doctor stood next to it.

The Doctor saw Johns astonished face. "Say it, I had all kind of remarks," the Doctor smirked.

"Is this your practice?"

"Well, that's a first" the Doctor said a little disappointed.

As John looked around he saw several corridors.

"Do you have a sickbay?"

"Yeah, well," the Doctor sighed, but most stuff is meant for my species.

"What is your species" Sherlock asked, although not really knowing why he asked, because he couldn't use the information for his work in the first place, but still curious about the alien with the two hearts and the time machine.

"I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey within the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm almost a 1000 years old and you are in my TARDIS. TARDIS stands for 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space'. The Tardis can transport us to any point in time and space in the universe." With this said, he pushed some handles and the time rotor started to go up and down. Before they knew it, they were thrown through the centre of the TARDIS. Luckily they managed to grab something to hang on to that they didn't fall but the men looked mad at the Doctor.

"If you are a thousand years old, how come you can't fly this thing properly?" John asked.

The Doctor turned to him and snickered: "Well, what would be the fun in that."

Before they knew it the TARDIS had landed. "Come on," the Doctor said, running towards the door. "You want to meet Claire. Come. Oh, and close door behind you when you leave." And of he went. John and Sherlock looked at each other.

"Definitively an alien" John stated.

Sherlock smirked. "Come John, let's visit that woman so we can go on with whatever the Doctor has in store for us."

They stepped out of the TARDIS and John noticed that they were near the flat where the couple lived. The Doctor was nowhere around and John assumed that he already went to the couple because as he remembered correctly, he had said that he would visit them within three weeks. And if the Doctor's time machine, he not really believed that, worked properly, than the three weeks already gone by and Claire would be better. They went to the apartment and rang the doorbell. Alex opened the door.

"There you are" he said with a happy smile. "The Doctor said you would come and check on Claire. Well, she's fine now. Thanks for checking. But come in, see for yourself."

As they entered, they saw George and the Doctor talking to each other in a bedroom. The door was open. John assumed it was George's bedroom. When he remembered correctly, the Doctor had said that he would visit the Baxters when their son would become a teenager. But what would be so important that an alien would visit a sixteen year old boy. He saw the curiousness in Sherlock's eyes. He noticed that Sherlock also wondered why a 1000 year old alien would visit a sixteen year old boy. It was obvious to him that the Doctor didn't come for the Baxters. The Doctor had come for George.

"Is George an alien?" he asked when entering the living room where Claire was sitting on the couch. Claire looked shocked. "An alien? Why would George be an alien?" Claire replied. "He's our son. I remember the day he was born. The happiest day of my life beside my wedding. You wanna see?" Before Sherlock knew it she had given him her photo album and pointed at the pictures where she held her baby in her arms. He immediately saw that there was something wrong with the pictures before the birth. She didn't looked pregnant. Then there was a picture of a party, Christmas perhaps, where she was holding a glass of wine and four weeks later she gives birth... He looked up and was about to tell his conclusions when he saw the Doctor standing next to the couch, looking very seriously, shaking his head. He watched the woman and smiled at her, given her back her photo album. "Lovely", he said. "Nice pictures." John was shocked. First the fact that Sherlock had really watched the pictures. Not his style and now commented them with lovely and nice. That Doctor guy certainly had an influence on Sherlock.

The Doctor turned over to Claire, given her a kiss on her forehead. "Goodbye, Claire, so good to see you up and running again. But then again, I knew you would. Goodbye George," giving him a hand and a wink. "Good to know you're doing fine. Keep up the good work and you'll will have an amazing live."

"Well, we'll have to go now. The Doctor here was curious if you Claire were really properly healed. Now he'd seen you did, now he don't have to worry anymore."

"Alex, will you show us out?"

"Sure."

John and Sherlock said goodbye to Claire and George as fast as they could, knowing that the Doctor had something to tell to Alex that nobody else had to hear and they definitively wanted it to hear. Especially Sherlock, now he had discovered there was something wrong with George's birth. He heard Alex voice asking something. He couldn't hear, but he heard the answer.

"Alex, you and Claire have done a great job. Now you have to take care of him for a few years more. Keep him away from drugs, booze and bad friends, give him all the love you can give and by the time he's twenty you'll have the best son in the universe. Then he'll definitively stays human." Sherlock saw the Doctor shaking Alex hand and off he went. Sherlock and John followed him.

When in the Tardis the Doctor saw Sherlock's question before Sherlock could ask it.

"No, she doesn't know. She mustn't know. But if she knew, it wouldn't matter."

Sherlock made an effort to ask more but then the Doctor replied before that question came out.

"Yes, Alex knows. He knows it since George is eight. But to him he's his son."

John understood that it concerned George, probably an alien, raised as a human being and that's why the Doctor came by to give some advice.

"How did George end up here?" John asked.

The two looked at John as if they didn't expected that John had figured out that George was an alien in the first place.

Sherlock gave John a smirk which meant that he thought John's question was a clever one and he appreciated John's contribution. The Doctor on the other hand gave John a smile and said: "Brilliant. The right question."

"When I was in the time vortex I received a message: 'Please, save me from the monsters'. I found George who turned out to be a Tenza. You can compare them with a cuckoo in the nest. Claire can't have kids and the couple tried anything. A Tenza young can sense what the foster parents want and then they assimilate perfectly. They create a massive psychic field and a perception filter that you really think that you were pregnant and gave birth to a son. When George was eight, something went wrong. He became scared of everything. I came and I figured it out. Now he's perfectly normal. I just needed to check him because teenage years can sometimes mess things." With this said he turned his head and faced Sherlock.

"So, ready for your case, Mr. Holmes?"


End file.
